French- Master of Arts

Admission Requirements

All applicants must submit two letters of recommendation and a writing sample in French, which should be sent to the Graduate Director. One of these letters should be written by someone who can vouch for the applicant’s abilities in the French language. The Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores are required for international students and should be taken before February 1. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is recommended but not required for domestic applicants. Application review begins February 1, however, we will accept applications through March 1.

Program Requirements

The M.A. in French requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of coursework (12 hours must be 600-level), a reading list examination, and a thesis. Students may take 500-level courses only during their first year and are strongly encouraged to take 600-level courses. Six of the 30 hours may be taken outside the department in related courses at 500- or 600-level with permission from the Graduate Director; however, courses in intensive reading of foreign languages do not count. The normal length of the program is four semester plus two summers. Students are expected to take two graduate-level courses per semester. During the first two semesters, they will also enroll in the Teaching Workshop (FRE 691), which may be counted no more than twice. All students are required to take French 614, a seminar on literary and critical theory offered every other year. During summers, students work independently preparing the reading list exam, or finalizing their master's thesis. Students are expected to participate in the Dijon credit workshop during the summer where, in addition to graduate courses, they may take reading list (or thesis) hours. Students must pass a comprehensive reading list examination in their third semester of study to be in good standing. During the fourth semester of study, students draft and revise a thesis of at least 50 pages, which represents an original contribution to scholarship in the field. Candidates for the M.A. should plan to defend their thesis at the end of their second year and complete all revisions to the thesis over the second summer of study.